2009 MLB Mid-Season Awards

July 13, 2009May 23, 2010Danny Vinik 1 Comment

With the 2009 MLB All Star Game tomorrow and the Home Run Derby tonight, it’s time to look at the first half of the season and hand out some hardware. Beginning in the American League:

MVP: Justin Morneau

He is tied for 4th in home runs, 2nd in RBI, tied for 7th in batting average, 10th in OBP, 4th in OPS, and 3rd in Slugging. Morneau’s stats don’t sound like those of an MVP, but the AL is so even this year that no candidate stands out. His biggest competition may be teammate Joe Mauer, but I’m giving the Morneau the edge due to HRs and RBI.

Cy Young: Zach Greinke

He has by far the best ERA in the AL, is tied for 2ndin wins, is 3rd in strikeouts with 129 in 127 1/3 innings, has just 21 walks, is tied for 1st in Quality Starts, and is 2nd in WHIP. Greinke has had a phenomenal year in every facet of his game and is the clear Cy Young award winner for the first half of the year.

Rookie of the Year: Ricky Romero

He is 7-3 with a 3.00 ERA and has 69 strikeout in 87 innings. He has a 1.26 WHIP and has been solid for Toronto all year. The AL doesn’t have any stand out rookies so Romero’s solid stats give him the award for the first half of the year. Continue reading “2009 MLB Mid-Season Awards” →

How Good Is Albert Pujols

July 5, 2009May 23, 2010Danny Vinik Leave a comment

When you think of the best hitter in baseball, most people generally think of Albert Pujols. Some think of Alex Rodriguez. Others maybe Manny Ramirez. Let there be no mistake: Albert Pujols is the best hitter in baseball.

Don’t believe me? Look at the statistics.

Home Runs: Pujols does not just lead the league in homers, he demolishes the league. His 31 home runs are SEVEN more than Adrian Gonzalez, who is in second place. Half-way through the season, Pujols has 26% more home runs than second place. Absolutely incredible.
Home Runs per at bat: Pujols is hitting a home run every 8.84 at bats. Adrian Gonzalez is once again in second place at 11.36 at bats. The difference between Pujols and Gonzalez is 2.52 at bats. The different between Gonzalez and number nine Jermaine Dye (13.95) is 2.59 at bats. Think about that: the difference between first and second is just about the same as the difference between second and ninth. That is how far ahead Pujols is in at bats per home run.
RBI: Pujols leads the league in runs-batted-in as well with 82. He leads by 7 RBI over second-place Prince Fielder as well, but he has 12 more than third-place Jason Bay. There are only nine players with more than 60 RBI and Pujols has EIGHTY-TWO. Continue reading “How Good Is Albert Pujols” →

2009 NL All Star Starters

July 3, 2009May 23, 2010Danny Vinik Leave a comment

Voting for the 2009 MLB All Star game ended last night, but the results won’t be revealed until Sunday. I already looked at who deserved to start for the American League. Here is the NL:

Catcher: Brian McCann

McCann sports a .309 batting average with a .393 OBP and an .898 OPS. His 8 home runs and 33 RBI are both second among NL catchers and his 14 doubles are tied for first. His 5 errors are a lot at catcher, but he has also thrown out 26.7% of runners trying to steal against him. McCann’s statistics aren’t anything special, but the NL has zero superstar catchers so McCann gets the nod as the starter.

First Base: Albert Pujols

Was there any question here? Pujols leads all first basemen with a .335 average and leads all of baseball with 30 home runs, 77 RBI, and a 1.200 OPS. Those stats are by far the best in baseball. Prince Fielder, who may be the second best player in baseball, unfortunately plays the same position in baseball so even though he would start at any other position, he has to play second-fiddle to Prince Albert here.

Second Base: Chase Utley

Utley is the clear choice amongst NL second basemen as he leads all others with 17 home runs, 52 RBIs, 54 runs, a .436 OBP, and a .982 OPS. He’s third with a .300 average and also has seven stolen bases. His .984 fielding percentage is fifth best in the NL and makes him the clear choice to start for the National League. Continue reading “2009 NL All Star Starters” →